One embodiment relates to a composite including a ceramic body, including a ceramic; a first surface; a hole, including a front face, an end face and a lateral surface, wherein the front face is an opening in the first surface; a second surface; and a conductor a1, wherein the conductor a1 electrically connects the second surface to the lateral surface, and includes a cermet.
Furthermore, one embodiment relates to a process for producing a ceramic body including a plurality of cermet conductors; to another process for producing a ceramic body including a plurality of cermet conductors; to another process for producing a ceramic body including a plurality of cermet conductors; to yet another process for producing a ceramic body including a plurality of cermet conductors; to a composite obtainable by said processes; to a device including one of the above composites; to a use of one of the above composites to electrically connect an electrode to an implantable electrical medical device; to a process of implanting the above device into an eukaryotic organism; and to a use of the above device in a therapy.
The prior art knows numerous implantable electrical medical devices, for example pacemakers and defibrillators. Pacemakers known in the prior art comprise a bladder pacemaker, a breath pacemaker, an intestinal pacemaker, a diaphragm pacemaker, a cerebral pacemaker and a cardiac pacemaker. Such devices are commonly implanted into a human or animal body to provide a therapy or treatment for a disease or malfunction of the body. Therefore, the device is generally designed to stimulate organic tissue, for example, muscle or nerve cells, by providing electrical voltage pulses to the tissue, or to measure electrical signals of the body, or both. In each case an electrical lead which contacts patient tissue at a stimulating or measuring end is required. Remote from the stimulating or measuring end, at the other end of the lead, the connector end, the lead has to be electrically connected to the medical device. Commonly, the implantable device includes a housing which is hermetically sealed and thus leak tight with regard to body fluids and gases. This housing includes electronics and a source of electrical energy, usually a battery. The technical challenge is to electrically connect the electronics inside the hermetically sealed housing to the lead outside. In a classical arrangement this is achieved by providing an electrical feedthrough and a connector block. The electrical feedthrough includes a conductive element, usually a pin or a wire made of platinum, which extends from the inside of the housing to the outside. Therein, the conductive element is electrically insulated from the housing by an insulating body, usually a ceramic ring. Of course, the feedthrough has to be leak tight in order to keep the housing hermetically sealed. This is typically achieved by welding a titanium flange into an aperture of the housing. The ceramic ring is welded or soldered into the flange and the conductive element is soldered by a gold solder into the ceramic ring. Hence, the feedthrough provides an electrical connection between the inside of the hermetically sealed housing and the outside. In order to be able to connect the lead the connector block is applied. The connector block is electrically connected to the feedthrough at the outside of the housing. The connector block provides a single or multiple female connectors which can accommodate the connector end of one or more leads. The connector ends are usually fixed within the female connectors by screws. This setup incorporates the classical external connector block.
An improvement has been provided in the prior art by means of internal feedthrough connectors. Such internal feedthrough connectors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,934,366 A, 7,711,427 B2 and 7,711,428 B2. Therein, the connector block has been incorporated into the hermetically sealed housing. Hence, the connector block and the feedthrough have been fused into one component. This further development provides advantages over the classical external arrangement with regard to miniaturising, reduction of the number of components, and reduction of labour and production time required to manufacture the implantable medical device.
However, the classical external feedthrough and connector block setup as well as the internal feedthrough connectors of the prior art include at least the following disadvantages. Both setups are characterised by a high degree of complexity. Manufacturing such a setup of the prior art takes a rather long time and a lot of labour. The setups of the prior art include a high number of parts and components which have to be assembled in a high number of process steps. This leads to rather high production costs of implantable electrical medical devices of the prior art. Furthermore, the reliability of implantable electrical medical devices directly affects the health of the patient to be treated. Hence, there is a steady need for further improvements with regard to reliability.